Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB overview: A pixel-packed rival to Apple’s 6K Professional Show

Need a 6K monitor? In that case, Apple’s Professional Show XDR is the one recreation on the town—and its Mac-centric design makes it unappealing to these utilizing Home windows. Dell has lastly delivered another, the Ultrasharp U3224KB, which packs 6K decision in addition to a webcam, microphone, soundbar, and USB-C hub. The monitor’s sharpness is spectacular however comes at a excessive value. 

Additional studying: See our roundup of the perfect 4K screens to study competing merchandise.

What are the Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB specs?

The standout specification is clearly the monitor’s 6144×3456 panel. This can be a tad larger than Apple’s Professional Show XDR, which has a decision of 6016×3384. Dell additionally opts for an IPS Black panel, a brand new kind of IPS show panel that delivers a greater distinction ratio than its predecessors. 

• Show dimension: 32-inch 16:9 widescreen
• Native decision: 6144×3456
• Panel kind: IPS Black LCD
• Refresh charge: 60Hz
• Adaptive-Sync: None
• HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 600
• Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Mini-DisplayPort, 1x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with 140 watts Energy Supply and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 2.5Gb ethernet, 1x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C, 1x USB-C with 10 watts Energy Supply, 1x USB-A
• VESA mount: Sure
• Webcam: 4K HDR 
• Microphone: Included
• Audio system: Included
• Value: $3,199.99

The Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB retails at $3,199.99. That’s an especially excessive value, although actually not remarkable—and, with no different 6K possibility in the marketplace other than Apple’s $5,000 Professional Show XDR, Dell seemingly feels free to cost what it needs. 

Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB design 

Dell’s Ultrasharp U3224KB has a 6K show, however odds are that’s not what you’ll first discover. The monitor throws in a soundbar and 4K webcam, each of that are positioned above the show. It’s an odd, top-heavy look that instantly stands out, but it surely works simply in addition to if the soundbar was beneath the show. 

Materials high quality is stable with sturdy silver plastics that resist flex and supply a convincing faux-metallic look. I do have a nit to choose, nonetheless: I discovered that the plastics within the monitor’s backside left and proper nook had been too versatile and creaked when the monitor was dealt with on this space. I doubt it’s a practical subject but it surely’s unlucky to see at this value level.

A heavy stand retains the monitor firmly planted on a desk. The bottom is compact, nonetheless, and its flat profile helps you keep some use of the desk floor that it does occupy. That is preferable to high-end screens that use extensive, tripod-style stands, that are mostly discovered on LG and Samsung shows. The stand adjusts for top, tilt, swivel, and may pivot 90 levels into panorama orientation. A 100x100mm VESA mount is included for attaching a third-party monitor stand or arm. 

Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB options and menus

The Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB has a Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and a whopping 140 watts of Energy Supply. That’s vital, as 140 watts is sufficient to totally energy a brand new Dell XPS 15 (and lots of different premium laptops with midrange discrete graphics). 

This port additionally acts as a hub which drives a USB-C downstream port, 4 USB-A ports, and a 2.5Gb ethernet port. This makes the U3224KB a succesful USB hub. Do be aware, nonetheless, that the monitor lacks a USB-B upstream port, which implies its USB hub capabilities are solely out there when the USB-C port is related.

Further video connectivity is obtainable over HDMI 2.1 and, unusually, Mini-DisplayPort 2.1. Full-sized DisplayPort 2.1 just isn’t out there. A Dell consultant instructed me the usage of Mini-DisplayPort was as a consequence of early technical points with VESA’s growth of a full-sized DisplayPort 2.1 connection. These points had been resolved, however Dell had already locked in its design, leaving the U3224KB with Mini-DisplayPort. Dell additionally notes {that a} suitable Mini-DisplayPort 2.1 output may be discovered on the most recent AMD Professional graphics playing cards. In any case, this makes for a complete of three video inputs, all three of which help 6K decision at 60Hz. Watch out to test the show output requirements utilized by your PC, as older video playing cards might lack help for an output that may deal with 6K.

Matt Smith

A joystick is used to manage the monitor’s on-screen menus. Dell’s menus are logically organized and supply a wide range of picture high quality choices together with coloration temperature adjustment and as much as six-axis customized coloration adjustment for hue, saturation, achieve, and offset (within the Customized Shade mode). The monitor additionally has presets for the sRGB, Rec.709, DCI-P3, and Show P3 coloration house.

The joystick is joined by a set of touch-sensitive controls on the lower-left bezel that may modify the quantity, mute the microphone, or deactivate the digicam. They’re usually invisible however mild up when a finger or hand comes inside a few half-inch of the lower-left bezel. I don’t assume most individuals will use them steadily, as controlling these capabilities in Home windows is a faster, simpler possibility. Nonetheless, privacy-minded customers may like the choice to deactivate the webcam and microphone. 

Matt Smith

The 4K HDR webcam delivers good video high quality. It’s not a match for a “real” digicam, to make sure, however akin to the standard of 4K standalone webcams just like the Logitech Brio and Dell Ultrasharp Webcam. Video is pretty crisp and supplies a lush, saturated look. A built-in microphone can seize audio and picks up robust, clear audio that simply beats most laptop computer or monitor microphones I’ve heard over the previous few years. Collectively, the digicam and microphone will assist you to look and sound your finest in video calls. 

Audio high quality is respectable, although not wonderful. Quantity is excessive and the presentation is crisp when enjoying much less demanding content material, like a well-recorded podcast, however the sound muddies in music, motion pictures, and video games. Nonetheless, it’s an enormous step up from the dinky audio system present in most screens. The microphone and soundbar have an echo cancellation characteristic that lets homeowners attend a video name with out headphones. 

How is the Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB’s SDR picture high quality?

The Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB is promoted because the world’s first 6K monitor with an IPS Black show panel. So, are the additional pixels noticeable?

Sure, they’re. The 32-inch 6K (6144×3456) panel packs 220 pixels per inch, a roughly 60 p.c enchancment over a 32-inch 4K monitor. This pixel density is much like Apple’s MacBook Professional laptops and a bit lower than a laptop computer with a 4K show. In truth, it is perhaps extra correct to say the additional pixels aren’t noticeable—as a result of it’s practically unattainable to see the person pixels on the show. They solely reveal themselves in take a look at photos or underneath magnification.

Whether or not you’ll profit from the pixel rely is one other matter. Most trendy apps look nice at 6K decision, however older apps that lack correct scaling are extraordinarily tough to make use of with out turning on WIndows’ built-in magnification characteristic, which is cumbersome. Video games look unbelievable, however operating a recreation at 6K decision reduces its efficiency, so this received’t be viable on something however the newest GPU {hardware}. 4K motion pictures and streaming reveals look nice however, after all, no extra so than on a 4K monitor.

The total advantages of 6K are principally reserved to content material creators. It’s clearly preferable when you shoot video at 6K decision, or one thing near it. Alternatively, you may edit video at 4K decision and consider a real 4K preview that takes up solely a portion of the show. Photographers profit, too, because the improved decision makes it attainable to edit giant photographs with much less have to zoom out and in of the picture. 

Briefly: 6K decision appears to be like superior, however you’ll battle to completely respect it except you’re working with content material at extraordinarily excessive resolutions. This isn’t an issue, however an statement, and one that ought to assist you to determine if a 6K monitor is for you. We reside in a 4K world, so that you’re unlikely to see the advantages of 6K content material except you’re creating it your self. 

There’s extra to a monitor than its decision, nonetheless—and the Dell U3224KB scores effectively in most image-quality checks.

Matt Smith

Most brightness is available in at a wonderful 524 nits. That’s a lot brighter than most conditions name for (I spent most of my testing with the monitor set to fifteen p.c of most). Nonetheless, I do assume the brightness is beneficial, as that is exactly the kind of monitor that is perhaps mounted in a convention room or an govt’s nook workplace. The monitor stays comfy to make use of in a shiny room.

Matt Smith

Dell opts for an IPS Black show panel. True to its identify, it achieves a luminance as little as .01 nits. That’s an enormous enchancment over a typical IPS panel, which might dip solely as little as .06 to .03 nits (and not using a Mini-LED backlight). 

The result’s a decent most distinction ratio of 1,710:1. It’s a really noticeable enchancment over an ordinary IPS show, but nonetheless fairly far behind Mini-LED screens, just like the Acer Predator X32 FP, and OLED screens, just like the Asus ProArt PG32DC. The Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB supplies good depth when utilized in a shiny room however struggles with shadow element in darker scenes, and it could possibly’t hope to match the jet-black look of an OLED show panel.

This can be a key level. The Dell’s distinction ratio is behind equally priced options, however these options don’t provide 6K decision. Buyers will want to choose between sharpness and depth. 

Matt Smith

The Dell U322KB produced a coloration gamut that spans one hundred pc of sRGB, 99 p.c of DCI-P3, and 92 p.c AdobeRGB. That’s a wonderful outcome and beats most related screens. Solely the Asus ProArt PG32DC, which has a top-quality 4K OLED show panel, exceeds the Dell U3224KB—and it’s nonetheless a detailed name. The Dell ought to provide a broad sufficient coloration gamut to deal with any activity. 

Matt Smith

Shade accuracy is stable, too. The Dell U3224KB does fall behind some options, just like the ProArt PG32DC, however the degree of coloration error produced by these shows is so small that it’s unlikely to be an issue for even essentially the most discerning customers. 

I additionally recorded a gamma curve of two.2, which is exactly on the right track, and a default coloration temperature of 6800K, which is only a tad cooler than the goal of 6500K. These are good outcomes.

Understanding the U3224KB’s picture high quality may really feel advanced, but it surely’s relatively straightforward to simplify. The monitor appears to be like nice, but it surely solely beats 4K rivals when 6K content material is obtainable. 

How is the Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB’s HDR picture high quality?

The Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB helps HDR and carries a VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification. It carried out as promised with a most sustained full-screen HDR brightness of as much as 669 nits. That’s a robust outcome that exceeds OLED screens. Nonetheless, it does fall behind Mini-LED screens just like the Acer Predator X32 FP, which might hit no less than 946 nits. 

Excessive brightness helps the U3224KB present a extra vivid picture and add luminance element in HDR content material. Shiny highlights, like a sundown or headlights in a darkish alley, are noticeably extra detailed than in SDR. Nonetheless, the U3224KB’s modest distinction ratio is a limitation and finally dulls the monitor’s affect in HDR. The monitor struggles when a small, shiny object seems in an in any other case darker picture, wanting flat and washed-out in comparison with a Mini-LED or OLED various. 

The U3224KB additionally falls effectively behind different screens in its value vary. It’s just a few hundred {dollars} cheaper than the Asus ProArt PG32DC, an OLED monitor that’s barely dimmer in HDR content material and delivers a much more practical picture in darkish scenes. The Acer Predator XP32 FP, which retails for $1,500, demolishes the U3224KB’s HDR efficiency with larger marks in each shiny and distinction. The Dell appears to be like respectable by itself, but it surely’s hopelessly outmatched by price-competitive options.

Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB movement efficiency

Matt Smith

Movement efficiency isn’t a spotlight for Dell’s Ultrasharp U3224KB, and it reveals. The monitor has a 60Hz refresh charge and guarantees a minimal gray-to-gray response time of 5 milliseconds. Neither determine is nice: Right now’s finest screens attain as much as 500Hz and obtain sub-millisecond gray-to-gray response occasions.

Quick-moving objects present little readability as they zoom throughout the display. The imprecise define of the thing is tangible however particulars, like the colour of an individual’s eyes or the feel of their clothes, are vague. Panning the digicam in a 3D recreation will trigger vital blur that makes it tough to deal with any explicit object, character or enemy. Whereas the U3224KB’s general efficiency just isn’t spectacular, it’s typical for a 60Hz monitor.

Adaptive Sync is lacking, as effectively, so the monitor can’t coordinate its refresh charge with the video output from a tool. It will trigger display tearing and/or micro-stutter points in some video games. 

Is the Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB value it?

The Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB is an distinctive monitor with a razor-sharp 6K picture, helpful webcam and microphone, and versatile USB hub, however its general picture high quality and have set might not maintain up in opposition to 4K options. Regardless of its spectacular decision, the U3224KB’s distinction ratio and HDR efficiency fall behind equally priced choices just like the Asus ProArt PG32DC.

Nonetheless, a easy reality stays: The Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB is a 6K monitor. Apple’s Professional Show XDR additionally supplies 6K decision however its value, design, and deal with the Mac make it a non-starter for these utilizing Home windows PCs. Creators on Home windows who need 6K decision will discover the U3224KB is their solely possibility. For now, no less than.